Photo caravan in Tagum City

Sunday, January 30, 2011

ARMED with photo equipment--from cameras, lenses, tripods, filters down to high powered technology photo related facilities--we roamed the beautiful sceneries of Tagum City with eyes wide-open and artistic gestalt in search for the "picture perfect moment," ready to express ourselves not with words but with the images, not with our voices but with our hands and eyes.

The city government of Tagum, through the City Information Office and the City Tourism Office, conducted the 1st Tagum City Photo Caravan participated by selected photographers from Tagum and Davao cities, including Davao Bloggers, on January 15-16.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

The two-day photo caravan aims to document the important landmarks and points of interests of Tagum as a city--its cityscape and nightscape.

Photographs captured creatively during this event and will be used for interactive information board, brochures and other tourism promotion and marketing materials for the upcoming 10th Musikahan Festival and the 3rd International Rondalla Festival 2011 set on February 11-20.

The photo sessions started at the Speed Boat Shack Restaurant in brgy. Apokon, where dinner was served while orientation and briefing was done by Edwin Lasquite, Information Officer II.

During the caravan, participants were brought to the specific landmarks and significant attractions to capture the best landscapes. These included the places of interest that usually visited by frequent visitors such as the New City Hall Site, Energy Park, La Filipina Public Cemetery, Tancuan River, Mangrove Park, Artificial Reef installation at Liboganon River, City Parks and Recreational Center, the Maharlika Highway lined-up palm trees area and other fascinating places.

Day Two provided the group with an experienced boat riding at the Liboganon Bridge for a visit to Tancuan River, the mangrove park and the artificial reef installed at the Liboganon River. They had a view of the mangroves and were introduced to the soft crabs species that grown only in Tagum.

Next stop amazed them with the modern structure of public cemetery that was reconstructed to minimized space in an alphabetical organization.

The Energy Park on its best scenic view was also included in the itinerary. Several spots along the highway and market never stopped the camera to click.

In the afternoon, Mayor Rey T. Uy warmly welcomed the participants during a courtesy call at the Tagum New City Hall, a state-of-the-art landmark, depicting intertwined modern architecture, engineering and green technology.

At night, the city mayor personally accompanied and explained to participants how the Night Market at Trade and Cultural Center started and how it become the city's significant economic trademark. The night tour lasted for almost two hours roaming the busy streets.

All participants had a great time during the Photo Caravan. It was not just an invitation for them to take pictures but opportunity to see what Tagum can offer to its visitors and guests like them.

They were surprised how the city transformed from a struggling capital town of Davao del Norte into a very competitive city today.

Participants in the 1st City of Tagum Photo Caravan were Aillen Jill Uy, Angie Maestrado, Jebbie Bumanlag, Keir Ashley Lim, Leah Valle, Marvin Fernandez, Michael Patron, Olan Emboscado, Ophelia Casel, Francis Tejano, Leo Timogan, Mark Ri¤a and Ramil Molina.